Red Bull Box Cart Race 2026: Bear Witness as Teams Let Their Imagination Fly into the Fast Lane this October

Innovation meets speed as the Red Bull Box Cart Race returns to Sandton Drive on Sunday, 4 October 2026. This highly imaginative experience sees teams put together engine-free vehicles and make their way through various obstacles while trying to keep their vehicles (and themselves) together.

Red Bull Box Cart Race | What's on in Joburg

Participation rules for the Red Bull Box Cart Race

In the Red Bull Box Cart Race, teams of up to five build completely engine-free carts from scratch, perform a skit for the judges, and then challenge their creations racing downhill through jumps, obstacles and plenty of unexpected moments.

While the Cart Race is all about fun, creativity and friendly competition, there are a number of rules that hopeful participants must follow to be able to compete:

Each team’s vehicle must cross the finish line, and teams must feature one driver and one co-driver.
Ground crew members must a minimum of 16 years old and drivers must be 18 years and older.
Absolutely no engines, petrol, batteries, electrical cords, catapults, etc. are allowed.
The vehicle must be at most 2 m wide, 2.5 m tall and 6 m long.
Mandatory and functional steering and braking systems are required.
Vehicles must be handmade.
Drivers must wear helmets.

A complete application does not guarantee that you will be picked to participate. Selected teams are chosen based on the creativity of their submissions and judging will be based on speed, creativity, and showmanship (the “skit”).

Note that applications are now closed!

Something for the spectators

Non-particpants get to experience the excitement for free, bearing witness as homemade machines, outrageous costumes and fearless teams turn Sandton Drive into a downhill theatre of speed, creativity and spectacular failure.

The first cart launches at 11am and there’s no ticket required. A team hauls its hand built, engine free machine to the top of the ramp, dressed head to toe as pirates, superheroes, a giant potjie pot, a runaway bathtub, whatever
the imagination coughed up in the workshop.

Then, before a single wheel turns, they perform a skit at the top of the ramp to win over the judges and whip up the crowd.

And then they let go.

The cart drops, hits the jumps and physics takes the wheel. Carts are judged on speed, creativity and showmanship, so the fastest cart does not always win, and the one held together with hope and duct tape might just steal the day.